Flavored Butter Recipes

We picked the last Habanero peppers yesterday, officially marking the end of our vegetable season. I feel a little bad about that seeing as folks on the East Coast are already dealing with snow. Sorry! I think I've mentioned that due to a very frustrating gopher infestation, my husband Lulu planted mostly everything in planters this year. We had one planter full of Habanero chiles, which are famous for being the hottest peppers in the world. If you've never gotten a chance to experience Habanero peppers, they are extremely fragrant and fruity. The flavor is almost indescribable, as is the heat follows. Our plants were prolific; three habanero plants produced over 20 cups of peppers! Of course, having that many peppers forced us to get creative with how we used them, which was a lot of fun.

The first application we came up with was a flavored butter, which oddly wasn't all that spicy to my taste. I think the casein in the butter neutralizes a lot of the heat. Trust me, if I can enjoy it, you can too. I've been married for many years now, and before, I couldn't bare the spiciness of black pepper. I'm sure it helps marrying into an Indian family, but this Habanero chile butter captures that intoxicating fragrance without being overly spicy.

I pulsed red Habanero chiles with garlic into a purée and mixed them into soft butter. I measured 10 grams for a mild butter, 20 grams for medium and 40 grams for extra spicy. You could reduce the ratio, depending on how strong you want the heat. This butter is lovely as a spread for sandwiches, in pasta or as a garnish for a juicy steak. I especially like it on whole grain bagels.

I'll slowly post all the other ways we put these peppers to use. Try them if you dare!